Time to turn off the ghost net tap

Anybody else familiar with that phrase 'If the bath was overflowing, you wouldn't reach for the mop, you'd turn off the tap'? Well, that applies to plastic pollution, and in this case ghost nets, except the bath is the ocean and the water is ghost nets (ALDFG). Let's give a bit more context.

There are lots of different types of solutions for ALDFG, from preventative to curative measures. Here we'll focus on measures to reduce the intentional and accidental loss of fishing gear so it's not getting into the ocean in the first place - in essence, turning off the tap. Given a lack of money, resources and tech seem to be key drivers to the loss of ghost gear, they seem like the perfect starting point for solutions.

Financial incentives are an easy, yet effective first step. These work well when implemented alongside regulatory incentives, so the implemented rule is legal and financially enticing, appealing to all aspects of the potential drivers of ALDFG. Deposit return systems offer an incentive for fishers to bring gear back that may otherwise be discarded or lost due to it being near the end of its life, or financially inconvenient to keep on the boat. To take this further, grants can also be provided to those willing to use gear or technology which prevents ALDFG, removing the financial barrier between fishers who are keen to reduce the problem and the solution itself. Regulations can also be put in place to limit the amount of fishing gear carried per vessel of a given size, in turn preventing potential loss due to bad weather or intentional abandonment after landing a good catch. On the other hand, incorporating financial rewards for these nets has the potential to incentivise the false collection of ALDFG, equally, fishers may take unsafe risks in order to collect ghost gear.

Technology is a particularly fast-growing field and is becoming increasingly more valuable as a preventative method for ALDFG. The portion of ghost gear that has been lost accidentally, is often due to being caught on obstacles on the seafloor or with other boats and fishing gear. By installing effective acoustic instruments that use echolocation on fishing boats, the fishers can scan the seafloor to give an accurate image within a 3m error, subsequently highlighting potential obstacles so they can be avoided, reducing the risk of their gear getting snagged or lost. This form of technology can also be used to plot the location of any fishing vessels and the location of their gear on marine traffic AIS to communicate the location to others, preventing other vessels from experiencing a conflict of gear resulting in the loss of gear. SAFEGEAR have developed technologies and community engagement to promote spatial management preventing fishing vessels from experiencing gear conflict resulting in the abandonment or accidental loss of fishing gear in the UK. They’ve done this using ‘beacons’, detectable on the AIS, at the start and end of fishing gear to prevent collisions, in the process, saving fishers money and the ecosystem from damage. Programmes such as these incorporating the very people involved are often the most sustainable forms of change as they are at the grassroots.

Another option is manufacturing biodegradable gear. This means that after a certain amount of time abandoned in the ocean the ghost gear nets begin to break down, so worst case scenario if the fishing gear is lost, it begins to breakdown instead of persisting and continually catching and killing passing marine life. Although unfortunately, this comes with its own predicaments, as often biodegradable plastic doesn’t disappear, merely breaks down into microplastics making them even more difficult to manage and remove. However, the technology is still young, and in the process of striking the balance between environmentally conscious and effective at its purpose, fishing. Watch this space! Sometimes though, less is more. Simply not using fishing gear that's near its end of life and more likely to break, will reduce the chance of gear snagging and breaking off when fishing and ending up as ghost gear.

This is only a portion of the numerous potential solutions to ALDFG and it’s already getting complex with pros and cons to different preventative methods be it cost, logistics or effectiveness. Often, successful preventative methods involve utilising a variety of solutions or different methods depending on the area market and fishers in question. This won't be a one size fits all operation. The good news is, we’ll be bringing you more solutions in coming weeks ranging from turning off the ghost net tap as well as mopping it up!